By Regina Yeh
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
[email protected]
With goggles and sunglasses, their vision obscured by both the
intense sun over USC McDonald’s Swim Stadium and the steadily
churning waters of the Olympic-sized pools, swimmers and coaches
alike remained resolute.
UCLA head coach Cyndi Gallagher and assistant coach Greg Meehan
eyed their stopwatches and simultaneously scrutinized each of the
seven Bruins participating in the ninth annual Janet Evans
Invitational presented by Speedo, one of the largest meets in the
nation.
While over 600 swimmers, many of them world-class athletes,
attended the four-day meet beginning July 18, the UCLA contingent
treated the event as an introductory meet to an anticipated
season.
“This is a practice event, not our focus meet. Our
focus is on Nationals in a month,” Gallagher said.
Between the leap off the block and the stretch of the final lap,
each swimmer sought to compete faster and stronger.
“Each of us has our own goals this summer,” senior
Stacy Kearney said. “It’s a small but united group
here, and we’re cheering each other on in our sets and on our
blocks.”
Nevertheless, the Bruins placed high in the
competition. Junior Sara Platzer and senior Erica Shugart were
among the top ten in the 50-meter freestyle, and the rest of the
Bruins also set personal bests.
“This meet is an opportunity for them to swim faster, and
the rest of them are swimming faster than they had been
before,” Gallagher continued. “We’re not exactly
where we want to be, but we’re getting there.”
The advent of the National Championships in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, has spurred intense practice and training as well as some
yoga in preparation for the swimming and competitions, scheduled to
begin in August.
With so many strong swimmers at the meet, recently transferred
junior swimmer Taylor Spivey immediately identified with the
experience of competing at the Janet Evans Invitational.
“It’s just a really good competition, and it’s
exciting to be here,” Spivey said.
Kearney looks forward to competing in the 200- and 400-meter
individual medley at Nationals, and enjoyed the Invitational as one
of her last experiences to swim at such an intense competitive
level with her teammates.
“It’s kind of nostalgic, and these are some of my
last meets as a Bruin swimmer,” Kearney said. “In this
meet I’ve seen people that I’ve always been with, and
it’s definitely one of the marking points in my
life.”